We picked three web sites to compare and contrast. Gen and I decided on social bookmarking sites:
This is what we found out:
digg.com
Content/Subject:
• User-submitted news, articles, videos, & podcasts
Source of communication:
• showcasing what users are interested in without editors
User needs & interests:
• want to see what other people are interested in
• see what’s new and cool out on the internet
• share with others what you are interested in and think is important
Organization:
• front page articles are rated highest – most important to users
• main navigation for the site is all along the top & is divided into categories and subcategories
• you can always see where you are in the site by which categories and subcategories are highlighted
• overall pretty easy to use
• multiple pages of articles listed that you can click through
Graphic User Interface:
• pretty basic
• all articles are layed out on the left; all have the same layout
• search engine at the top – works pretty well
• Grid: top of page keeps the same navigation; left 2/3 of page are for articles; right 1/3 of page is for less important info & ads
• Style: pretty simple; organized; clean; articles open up in separate windows which is nice; ads are kept together and not scattered around the site, however they have the same style of heading as the articles so that they blend in
del.icio.us
Content/Subject:
• User-submitted information; links to information
Source of communication:
• showcasing what users are interested in without editors
User needs & interests:
• see what others are interested in without editors
• to see what others think is valuable
• share with others what you are interested in and think is important
Organization:
• very basic
• stories are organized on the left side
• stories on the home page are the most bookmarked articles
• only the main page contains articles – from there you must search for what you are looking for by keywords
• headings are clear, but no article descriptions
• “tags to watch
